K A R M A

"Phase One of the E8 Project commences today. Please proceed according to plan."

Karma opened up her icy blue eyes in a dramatic fashion worthy of a movie and some music. She slowly sat up in her bed and turned to look around at the whole room. Everything looked like it used to. No nasty surprises. Oh well. The woman shrugged and jumped up, clearly awake as if she had already been up for hours.

After getting dressed, a process that took only a minute when she really knew what she wanted to wear, she made sure that her hair hung in its proper half-curls along her back and over her shoulders. Then she put on some make up and made sure that her lips were just a tad shade brighter than her nails on this very special day. She wouldn't want to look grumpy and sad now, would she? On this very special day.

Truth was that even though she smiled at the character in the mirror before putting her white labcoat over her brightly green t-shirt, she was quite annoyed with things right now. She had trained a couple of very promising and dear monferno but when the incident happened and they all got suspected for having something to do with it, her dear, precious, trained monferno had been taken away. Both of them. And today she was supposed to get a new pokémon, someone she could bond with. Bond, hah! The thought of bonding with anyone made her smile open up into a little laughter as she stepped out into the corridor. She almost hoped that someone had heard that. Today was a good day to seem confident on. Like any day. No matter what situation.

She strutted down the corridor to the cafeteria at the end of the walkway. Entering, she immediately spotted the long table with all the pokéballs lined up. Ten of them, and all of them with a little note attached to say what species was inside. So exciting! Karma did a little dance in the middle of the empty cafeteria, unable to keep it in. She walked up and down the row, thinking on what to do. Should she pick the strongest one? Or the weakest one and make it the strongest with her willpower and good training? Or should she not pick anything until the next person arrived and then snatch whatever pokémon it seemed like he or she wanted to take before their hand could reach it? So many fun alternatives!

Then, a name caught her interest. Golett. She knew very well how that pokémon looked like. A golett had been working, or living, or been doing something, at the temple where her father had worked. Her father...

The cafeteria fell silent when she stood still for a brief moment. Ugh, thoughts! Sentimental thoughts! No, away with them. She laughed a little just to make herself feel better. But then her smile faltered for a second again, and she reached out and grabbed golett's pokéball. This pokémon could be her family. If TR ever turned on her. Because things in this world always turn on other things at some point. She always turned on people at some point. But this pokémon, she wouldn't turn on him. And she would make sure that he wouldn't turn on her.

With shifty eyes, she looked around to make sure that no one else had arrived yet. Then she opened the pokéball up, allowing the ghostly golem to materialize on the floor. She gasped. It didn't look like the one in the temple from her past. This one glowed with a green light, matching her t-shirt, and it was overall darker and less... less blueish. It was a sign, for sure!

Hearing footsteps from the corridor, from someone who was about to enter the cafeteria next, she quickly returned golett to its pokéball before they had spoken any words to one another. Then she put on her usual violent smile again and obediently sat down on one of the chairs that were put up in a half circle, to watch what the next E8 member was going to do. She clutched the pokéball in her hand though, and for a brief moment she thought she heard something that she hadn't heard for days... the voice of a pokémon inside her head.

"Yo, lady," were the only word-like sounds she could make out. Definitely a good sign.